Guy: Time for GOP to get busy

State Republicans may have been buoyed after hearing Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich at their annual dinner in Manhattan on Wednesday, but former GOP Borough President Guy Molinari says that the party still has a long row to hoe with New Yorkers.

"The Republicans haven't shown people very much," he said. "We're hurting from the top down, and from the bottom up. We have a lot of work to do."

One thing could help right the ship, Molinari said: A Giuliani run for governor in 2010.

"If Rudy decides to go, that would be one bright spot that could emerge for our party," said Molinari, a longtime Giuliani friend and supporter.

Molinari also likes the idea of Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island) running for Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's seat next year.

"I like Peter," he said. "He's with us on all the important issues. He's a hard worker and a go-getter."

But he also had praise for Sen. Gillibrand, who visited Staten Island for the first time this week.

"I've been watching her," he said. "I think most Republicans would like her positions on most issues. She seems to be a very active person."

But Guy doesn't understand why Sen. Gillibrand seems to have softened some of her more conservative views, including on immigration, after being tapped for the Senate and facing the wrath of liberal Democrats.

"That's puzzling to me," Molinari said. "That's something that I would expect an opponent to hammer away at: 'Which Gillibrand is running?'"